1. Field of the Invention
The day of just throwing kitchen utensils into a drawer is, fortuitously, at an end. Particularly, in the case of sharp utensils, e.g., knives, the practice can be potentially dangerous, not to mention unsightly.
Since the popularity of butchers' blocks became wide spread, makers have created a wide variety of such devices, formed or otherwise equipped with a series of slots for receipt and storage of sharp devices, such as knives, in a manner which not only protected folks from inadvertent contact with the sharpened edges of such utensils, but to do so in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Such blocks come in a variety of shapes, sizes and even styles to fit seamlessly into one's kitchen decor. They are often decorative and, of course, functional, but suffer from a distinct disadvantage, at least in some environments, in that they typically sit on a kitchen counter and take up valuable space.
2. Overview of the Related Art
The quest to free up counter space has not been totally ignored. Today, coffee makers, toaster ovens, can openers, television sets, radios and a variety of other appliances have been redesigned to permit their being mounted under a kitchen cabinet or the like. In most of these cases, the device is permanently mounted so as to be rigidly positioned to face outwardly in order to be operated conveniently from a particular position in a kitchen isle adjacent and/or between cabinets. While these innovations continue to grow in popularity, the venerable wooden block-type knife holder continues to repose on the counter.